Arctic Update Header
August 16, 2018
 
The Causes and Consequences of a Rapidly Changing Arctic, August 16, 2018 (Washington, DC USA and via webinar). Earth's climate system is highly interconnected, meaning that changes to the global climate influence the United States climatically and economically. In much the same way as European and Asian financial markets affect the U.S. economy, changes to ice sheet mass and energy flows in the far reaches of the planet affect our climate. Life on Earth is sensitive to climate conditions; human society is especially susceptible due to the climate-vulnerable, complex, and often fragile systems that provide food, water, energy, and security. This event is part of the Climate Science Special Report (CSSR) Seminar Series by the US Global Change Research Program in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The presenter will be Dr. Patrick C. Taylor, Climate Research Scientist, NASA Langley Research Center.
Media
 
Chinaflag China to Participate in All-Round Arctic Expedition. Chinese scientists will board the German icebreaker RV Polarstern next year to research the Arctic climate system, which Chinese experts said could help people better understand climate change. China will participate in the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) project from September 2019 to October 2020, Science and Technology Daily reported Wednesday. The team will use the RV Polarstern as a base to observe sea ice, the ocean and the atmosphere en route to the North Pole, Zhang Lin, director of the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center's polar office, told the paper. Ecns
 
Arctic Air Expedition Crew Covers 20,000 km on Amphibious Plans. Participants in the Arctic expedition on amphibious planes covered more than 20,000 km along the Polar Circle and returned safely to the Samara Region, the regional government's press service told TASS on Wednesday... The route crossed Russia's cities Urai, Surgut, Norilsk, Tiksi, then along the Arctic Ocean towards the Schmidt Cape and Providence Bay, further on across Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the UK, Norway, Sweden, Finland and then back to Russia. The expedition's objectives were to make certain climate and medical, biological tests, to lay out routes for air traveling in the Russian North and to test the crew and equipment before the air expedition to the Antarctica, planned for 2019. TASS Russian News Agency
 
The Mysterious Case of Alaska's Strange Sockeye Salmon Returns This Year. There's something unusual going on with the sockeye salmon runs returning to Alaska this year. In some places - like Bristol Bay- the runs are strong. In others, like the Copper River or the Kenai River they're unexpectedly weak. In some places, there are sockeye that are unusually small. In others, sockeye of a certain age appear to be missing entirely. It's a mystery. Alaska Public Media
 
Arctic Policy Hackathon Heads to Iqaluit. There's a pan-Arctic brain-storming session coming to Iqaluit next week. Northerners from Nunavik, Nunatsiavut and all three Canadian territories are visiting Iqaluit on August 21 and 22, to take part in what's called a "Northern Policy Hackathon" being hosted by the Gordon Foundation. But what is a hackathon anyway? Nunatsiaq Online

Sullivan, Military Brass Visit Nome with Ambitions for Arctic Role in National Security. U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer and U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Karl Schultz are touring the state in an effort to push for national security in the Arctic.  Their visit Monday in Nome coincides with the National Defense Authorization Act, which was scheduled to be signed by President Donald Trump. Funds for the construction of six new icebreakers are included in the bill. "The era of asking our military to do more with less is over," Sullivan said of the implications for that bill in the Arctic. "And a lot of that money is coming to Alaska." KTOO
 
Climate Change is Taking a Toll on Arctic Seabird Populations. Indicator species are animals whose health and population levels can be indicative of the health of the environments in which they live, and shifting factors within that environment that are changing significantly. Seabirds such as gulls are often indicator species, particularly for environmental changes that cause their populations to respond to shifts in their ocean habitat. A recent study in The Auk: Ornithological Advances reports on how multiple species of Arctic seabirds are responding to changes in their environment over the last four decades. The researchers have found evidence that the warming ocean is both directly and indirectly affecting seabird populations in Alaska. Earth.com
 
Searchers Find the Sunken Stern of a Doomed World War II Destroyer Off the Coast of Alaska. The USS Abner Read had finished one leg of its anti-submarine patrol and was turning to start the next. Off the shore of Kiska, in Alaska's Aleutian chain, the sea was calm, and the moon could be glimpsed behind clouds and mist. It was Aug. 18, 1943. The Japanese had just evacuated the island but had left behind a minefield, which was thought to be 2,000 yards away. But at 1:50 a.m., as the darkened destroyer crept along at 5 knots, its stern erupted in a huge geyser of water. The Washington Post
Future Events

August NWS Alaska Climate Outlook Briefing, August 17, 2018 (Fairbanks, Alaska USA or via webinar). The tools and techniques for making monthly and season scale climate forecasts are rapidly changing, with the potential to provide useful forecasts at the month and longer range. We will review recent climate conditions around Alaska, review some forecast tools and finish up the Climate Prediction Center's forecast for September and the Fall/early winter season. This event is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Science Seminar Series.

The Fourth US National Climate Assessment: An Overview of Volume 1, August 28, 2018 (Washington, DC and via webinar). This event is part of the Climate Science Special Report (CSSR) Seminar Series by the US Global Change Research Program in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. New observations and new research have increased our understanding of past, current, and future climate change. The Fourth National Climate Assessment confirms prior assessments in concluding that the climate on our planet, including the United States, is changing, and changing rapidly. Observational evidence for a changing climate abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans. The speaker will be Donald J. Wuebbles, the Harry E. Preble Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Illinois.

UArctic Congress 2018, September 3-7, 2018 (Oulu and Helsinki, Finland).   The UArctic Congress 2018 will bring together key 
UArctic meetings and a science conference into one single gathering, including business meetings of the Council of UArctic, Rectors' Forum, Student Forum, and Thematic Networks & UArctic Institutes Leadership Team. The Congress is an integral part of the Finland's Arctic Council chairmanship program, and open to the public. The event will highlight the themes and priorities of the Finnish chairmanship, including the goals of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Paris Agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

15 th International Circumpolar Remote Sensing Symposium, September  10-14, 2018 (Potsdam, Germany).  This symposium focuses specifically on remote sensing applications in polar environments, both Arctic and Antarctic. The theme of this year's symposium is, "Polar Regions in Transformation - Climatic Change and Anthropogenic Pressures." 

** New this week ** North American Arctic Maritime and Environmental Security Workshop, September 18-20, 2018 (Anchorage, Alaska USA). The Arctic Domain Awareness Center at the University of Alaska and Trent University, Peterborough Ontario, jointly welcome participants to the North American Arctic Maritime and Environmental Security Workshop, University of Alaska Anchorage, Gorsuch Commons Center. The purpose of the event is to gather Arctic minded experts from government, operators, academics and industry principally from Canada and the U.S. to collaboratively assess security and provide solutions focused on the North American Arctic maritime region, including environmental and human security. The workshop will include plenary panels and breakout discussions to facilitate assessment and identify actions to mitigate risk and improve North American Arctic Maritime and Environmental Security.   The "so what" of this workshop, is to build on prior discussions and assessments (much of which is contained in a preparatory Literature Review), and create a framework of actions that policy and decision makers can leverage.

September NWS Alaska Climate Outlook Briefing, September 21, 2018 (Fairbanks, Alaska USA and via webinar). The tools and techniques for making monthly and season scale climate forecasts are rapidly changing, with the potential to provide useful forecasts at the month and longer range. We will review recent climate conditions around Alaska, review some forecast tools and finish up the Climate Prediction Center's forecast for October and the early winter season. This event is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Science Seminar Series.

Scientific Exploration of the Arctic and North Pacific (SEA-NorP), September 25-27, 2018 (Mt. Hood, Oregon USA). This workshop will include discussion of hypotheses that can be tested by scientific drilling in the region, the technology necessary to achieve those goals, ideal sites for drilling based on existing data, and where additional site survey data is needed. The goal of the workshop organizers is that multiple proposals will be initiated at the workshop, both for full cruise legs and for shorter, targeted expeditions around the following themes: ocean gateways, geohazards, volatile cycling, ice histories at transition zones, biosphere and climate.

Polar Law Symposium (11th annual), October 2-4, 2018 (TromsΓΈ, Norway) . This symposium brings together established scholars and post-doctoral and doctoral researchers from all across the world to share research in the fields of polar law and policy. Leading experts are invited to give keynote lectures. A history of the symposium is  here , news about it is  here , and registration is  here .

The second Arctic Biodiversity Congress is hosted by the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), the biodiversity working group of the Arctic Council, and the Ministry of the Environment, Finland. The second Arctic Biodiversity Congress will build on the success of the first Congress, held in 2014 in Trondheim, Norway, and will bring together scientists, policymakers government officials, Indigenous representatives, Traditional Knowledge holders, industry, non-governmental organizations, and others to promote the conservation and sustainable use of Arctic biodiversity. 

Arctic Circle Assembly, October 2018 (Reykjavik, Iceland). The annual Arctic Circle Assembly is the largest annual international gathering on the Arctic, attended by more than 2000 participants from 60 countries. It is attended by heads of states and governments, ministers, members of parliaments, officials, experts, scientists, entrepreneurs, business leaders, indigenous representatives, environmentalists, students, activists and others from the growing international community of partners and participants interested in the future of the Arctic.

2018 Forum for Arctic Modeling and Observational Synthesis (FAMOS) Project Annual School and Meeting, October 23-26, 2018 (Bergen, Norway) Major goals of this meeting are to coordinate FAMOS activities, report accomplishments, exchange ideas and hypotheses, enhance international arctic studies collaboration and discuss plans for continuing FAMOS work beyond 2019. Meeting registration form is available at project websites: here and here. For questions and details contact A. Proshutinsky, Mike Steele, and Amelie Bouchat.

Arctic Science Forum Associated with the 2nd Arctic Science Ministerial, October 25, 2018 (Berlin, Germany and via webcast). How vulnerable and how resilient are nature and the people of the Arctic region? How well do we understand the regional and global dynamics which are driving change in the Arctic? What impact will change in the Arctic have on us? These and other questions are the focus of this two-day conference. It will take interdisciplinary research in the Arctic to gain an understanding of past and future processes - a complex and cost-intensive venture. This makes an international network of Arctic research so important for delivering better results. Cooperation in research, the exchange of data, collaborative observation and monitoring schemes - international cooperation is imperative in research on the Arctic.
Only the Science Forum, on October 25th, will be webcast. The Arctic Ministerial, on October 26th, will NOT be webcast.

Maritime & Arctic Security & Safety Conference (MASS18) "Arctic Technology" November 15-16, 2018 (Newfoundland & Labrador Canada).  Now in its sixth year, MASS has gained an international reputation as a must-attend event to gain a wide perspective on challenges, opportunities and policies related to the Arctic and North Atlantic maritime environments.  The aim of this Government of Canada and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador supported international conference is to promote stakeholder collaboration, technological innovation, harsh environment research & development, and world-class education efforts that are contributing to both Maritime and Arctic issues.   This two day conference will draw a diverse group of speakers and attendees representing government, military, Canadian and U.S. Coast Guard, industry, academic leaders, Northern Leaders, research and other key stakeholders. We hope you can join us to be a part of this important dialogue

American Geophysical Union Fall meeting, December 10-14, 2018 (Washington, DC USA). The AGU 2018 Fall Meeting will mark another dynamic year of discovery in Earth and space science, serve as the advent of AGU's Centennial year, and provide a special opportunity to share our science with world AGU logo leaders in Washington, D.C. As the largest Earth and space science gathering in the world, the Fall Meeting places you in the center of a global community of scientists drawn from myriad fields of study whose work protects the health and welfare of people worldwide, spurs innovation, and informs decisions that are critical to the sustainability of the Earth. 

ArcticNet: Annual Scientific Meeting 2018, December 10-14, 2018 (Ottawa, ON Canada). Canada's North is experiencing unprecedented change in its sea and terrestrial ice, permafrost and ecosystems under the triple pressures of climate change, industrialization and modernization. The impacts of these pressures can be seen on food and energy security, shipping, sovereignty, northern community health and well-being, and sustainable development and resource exploitation. All these issues have brought the North to the forefront of national and international agendas. Building on the success of its previous Annual Scientific Meetings and International Arctic Change Conferences, the Arctic Network of Centers of Excellence announces the 14th ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting. 

is a global scientific conference on economic, societal, and environmental sustainable growth.  This year's theme will be "Smart Arctic," with a pan-arctic emphasis, and an effort to build new partnerships across nations, generations and ethnic groups. Arctic Frontiers provides a forum for dialogue and communication between science, government and industry . The plenary program will have five main sessions: State of the Arctic, Blue Growth, Smart Solutions, Bridging the Gap, and Arctic business prospects. An abstract-driven science program will address Plastics in the Ocean, the Future of Governance and Handling Vulnerability in Arctic Ecosystems, State of the Arctic and A Smart Arctic Future.

Arctic Futures 2050: Science and Policy for a Changing Arctic, September 4-6, 2019 (Washington, DC USA). In 2019, the Study of Environmental Arctic Change  (SEARCH) and partners will convene Arctic scientists and decision makers to jointly forecast Arctic research needed to inform policy in the coming decades. The conference also is intended to foster more effective and iterative collaborations among Arctic scientists and decision makers.

of the AAG includes over 8,500 geographers converging from the U.S., Canada, and nearly 60 other countries in a typical year including geographers, GIS specialists, environmental scientists, and other leaders for the latest in research and applications in geography, sustainability, and GIScience.

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